Wander & Nest

Mara turned 2 this week! And since we’re nearly 24 hours ahead of most of our friends and family, it felt like she had two birthdays – one on the 27th in New Zealand and one on the 27th in the States. She celebrated with her friends at daycare with cupcakes! And in true Mara fashion she refused to eat them, but all her friends and teachers loved them.

After her cupcake party and nap we took her to the Willowbank Wildlife reserve and wow, what a place! You can really get up close with many of the animals and feed them too. Mara loved feeding and chatting with the ducks and various birds. We’ll definitely be back!

Now a few weeks into our stay in New Zealand, I’m finding my groove with work and the overall time shift. At least a few days a week I work very early in the morning, at 4 or 5am. It’s taking some adjusting of course but the upside is that I pretty much have free afternoons! I found a nice pilates studio that offers reformer classes at a great price, met up with my college SWE advisor who was visiting New Zealand for the World Cup, met the Canterbury newcomers group, blindly followed a sign for empanadas (totally worth it), explored downtown Christchurch more via bus, and even rode the zip line at Margaret Mahy playground… sans Mara 🙂

We spent a sunny Saturday at the beach in New Brighton. Wylie carried Mara and we walked along a nice little path on the dunes to the New Brighton Pier. Mara played on a great beach playground complete with her new favorite – trampolines!

In New Brighton we stumbled upon a Vanuatu Independence Day celebration and we were welcomed in to enjoy the food and performances.

We finished off the week celebrating my birthday with a day trip to Akaroa, a little French Village about an hour and half drive from Christchurch. The weather was perfect and scenery was incredible including all along the drive. These pictures do not even come close to capturing the amazing views.

Now with August around the corner we’re looking forward to more sunny days like today!